SCAQMD requires residents to not burn wood in their fireplaces on days when air pollution levels are highNovember 01, 2017 12:04 PM Eastern Daylight Time

November 01, 2017 12:04 PM Eastern Daylight Time

DIAMOND BAR, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) today launched its annual fall and winter air pollution prevention program, Check Before You Burn. Aimed at improving Southern California’s air quality by restricting wood burning in residential fireplaces on days when air pollution levels are high, Check Before You Burn runs from November through the end of February.

A recent SCAQMD survey[1] of residents found that 72 percent of respondents are concerned with the air quality where they live but most of these same residents – 67 percent – did not recognize that wood smoke is a significant contributor to air pollution.

“Southern Californians want to understand impacts to air quality and are demonstrating their willingness to make changes for the good of public health,” said SCAQMD’s Executive Officer Wayne Nastri. “The Check Before You Burn program is part of this effort and when residents are aware of and comply with no-burn days, then together we improve the air quality in the region.”

Although some might consider wood smoke “natural,” smoke caused by burning wood in fireplaces can emit more than five tons of harmful PM2.5 (fine particulate matter) emissions per day in the South Coast Air Basin – more than three times the amount of PM2.5 emitted from all of the power plants in the Southland. Particulate matter in the air can cause throat and eye irritation, aggravate asthma and trigger other respiratory conditions. Breathing high levels of particulate matter over long periods of time can also cause more serious health problems.

No-burn alerts are issued by SCAQMD when stagnant weather conditions elevate fine particulate pollution to unhealthy levels. These No-burn days are 24-hour periods when burning wood in fireplaces, backyard fire pits and wood stoves across the entire South Coast Air Basin are prohibited.

The Check Before You Burn program encourages residents to take the pledge to Check Before You Burn and sign up for no-burn alerts at http://www.AirAlerts.org.

The fall and wintertime program became mandatory on Nov. 1, 2011, under the provisions of SCAQMD’s Rule 445 – Wood-Burning Devices. For more information about SCAQMD and the Check Before You Burn program, please visit its web page, http://www.aqmd.gov/home/programs/commu ... e-you-burn or call the toll-free hotline at 866-966-3293 to learn if an alert is in effect.

While air quality has improved dramatically in recent decades -- PM2.5 levels have dropped by 51 percent since 2000 -- Southern California still has some of the worst air quality in the nation.

SCAQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

Sacramento officials are alerting county residents that annual winter fireplace burning restrictions start on Wednesday – with $50 fines for those caught lighting up on days when air quality is forecast to be unhealthy.

Sacramento air management officials said the decade-old “Check Before You Burn” program has helped reduce fine particulate matter from wood smoke by 70 percent on bad air days. The program applies throughout Sacramento County.

“No-burn” days typically occur when conditions are cold, dry and calm, trapping still air low to the ground, said Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District official Lori Kobza.

Sacramento Bee newspaper readers can find daily updates on whether it is a burn or no-burn day on the Bee’s weather page, at the lower right hand corner of the “regional outlook” map.

Last year, inspectors noted nearly 300 violations. More than half of those came from citizen complaints filed with the air district. In most cases, the fine was waived, air officials said. In exchange, those violators took a smoke awareness test.

Heavy rains kept Sacramento air cleaner last winter than during the recent drought years, allowing 54 “legal to burn” days and another 32 days when burning was discouraged, but still allowed. There were 19 days when no burning was allowed and 15 days when only people with federally approved burning devices or pellet fuel were authorized to burn.

For more information on the program, Sacramento County residents can call the air district at 916-874-4800 or 800-880-9025, or visit http://www.AirQuality.org.

Relaxing by a roaring fire? Hold it! ‘Check Before You Burn’ is backPosted by Christina Kelley on November 1, 2017 in Government | 74 Views | Leave a response

The South Coast Air Quality Management District Wednesday launched its annual fall and winter “Check Before You Burn” program, which is aimed at improving Southern California’s air quality by restricting wood burning in residential fireplaces on days when air pollution levels are high.

Check Before You Burn runs from November through the end of February.

“Southern Californians want to understand impacts to air quality and are demonstrating their willingness to make changes for the good of public health,” said SCAQMD Executive Officer Wayne Nastri. “The Check Before You Burn program is part of this effort, and when residents are aware of and comply with no-burn days, then together we improve the air quality in the region.”

Though some might consider wood smoke “natural,” smoke caused by burning wood in fireplaces can emit more than five tons of harmful PM2.5 — fine particulate matter — emissions per day in the South Coast Air Basin, which is more than three times the amount of PM2.5 emitted from all of the power plants in the Southland, according to the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

And while air quality in the region has improved dramatically in recent decades — PM2.5 levels have dropped by 51 percent since 2000 — Southern California still has some of the worst air quality in the nation, according to the SCAQMD.

Particulate matter in the air can cause throat and eye irritation, aggravate asthma and trigger other respiratory conditions. Breathing high levels of particulate matter over long periods of time can also cause more serious health problems.

No-burn alerts are issued by SCAQMD when stagnant weather conditions elevate fine particulate pollution to unhealthy levels. On no-burn days, burning wood in fireplaces, backyard fire pits and wood stoves across the entire South Coast Air Basin are prohibited.

Residents can sign up for no-burn alerts at http://www.AirAlerts.org and can also call a toll-free hotline — (866) 966-3293 — to learn if an alert is in effect. More information is available on the SCAQMD’s website at http://www.aqmd.gov .

• The Surgeon General has determined that there is no safe level of exposure to ambient smoke!

• If you smell even a subtle odor of smoke, you are being exposed to poisonous and carcinogenic chemical compounds!

• Even a brief exposure to smoke raises blood pressure, (no matter what your state of health) and can cause blood clotting, stroke, or heart attack in vulnerable people. Even children experience elevated blood pressure when exposed to smoke!

• Since smoke drastically weakens the lungs' immune system, avoiding smoke is one of the best ways to prevent colds, flu, bronchitis, or risk of an even more serious respiratory illness, such as pneumonia or tuberculosis! Does your child have the flu? Chances are they have been exposed to ambient smoke!